IYRS becomes center for green education

The IYRS Restoration Hall will become a place of green education when the school and the Rhode Island Marine Trades Association launch a series of evening lectures entitled, “Environmental Issues Facing Sailors and the Marine World.”

The next event in the series will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Rachael Miller comes to IYRS to talk about The Rozalia Project, a unique effort focused on cleaning the oceans and picking up plastics and non-biodegradable marine debris – one piece at a time. As executive director of the project, Miller will talk about the problem of marine debris in an interactive audience challenge to ask what sailors can do about the problem.

She also brings the story of the organization’s mothership, the 60- foot sailing research vessel American Promise, and the work done onboard collecting debris using a VideoRay ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Actual footage of debris on the bottom of the ocean will provide an alarming wake-up call for those in attendance.